John Durso, Long Island's congestion pricing rep, seeks Manhattan toll plan buy-in

Long Island’s lone representative on the board that will help decide New York’s congestion pricing policy expects to get grief for having a hand in the new Manhattan tolls, but wants to help Nassau and Suffolk residents understand why the plan will do some good.

“If we do not have buy-in from the public, all of this will be for nothing, because people will not get out of their cars,” said John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO — an umbrella group of more than 160 union locals — and the newest appointee to the state’s Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB).

MTA officials, he said, “need to be able to present this to the public in such a way that they understand that it’s not just about money. It’s about quality of life. It’s about the air that we breathe.”

Durso and other project proponents have an uphill battle winning support for congestion pricing, which has been panned by many New Yorkers, including on Long Island, as a government cash grab that will hurt those who need to drive into Manhattan for work. The plan, they say, will chase away New York residents and businesses, while benefiting the financially-mismanaged MTA.

The MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program received final federal approval last month, and is expected to take effect as early as next May. The plan will toll vehicles driving below 60th Street in Manhattan with the goal of reducing traffic congestion, and raising $1 billion annually for the MTA.

The MTA has said it is considering tolls ranging from $9 to $23 during peak hours for E-ZPass users.

Durso, who has held his labor leader post since 2005, last month replaced real estate developer Scott Rechler as the Long Island representative on the six-member board, which was established by state law in 2019 to make nonbinding recommendations to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on its forthcoming congestion pricing plan. That includes the price of the new tolls and potential exemptions.

The MTA appoints all six members of the board, but, by law, must include one representative of the LIRR's service territory, one from Metro-North's territory, and one recommended by New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Despite many Long Islanders' vehement objections to congestion pricing, Durso said he supports the goals of reducing traffic and improving air quality. He does not intend to fight the plan, but rather help make it as palatable as possible for "the working men and women” of Long Island, 250,000 of which are represented by his labor organization.

“I didn’t knock on the door and say, ‘Oh, can I join this committee so I can be abused?’ They called me, and I said I would consider it, but with the understanding that this is the perspective I come with,” Durso said.

Durso said it “would be premature” to discuss potential toll prices before hearing from the public and meeting with fellow board members. But, he hopes to arrive at “a number that works for the public as best as possible, and allows for working men and women to access [Manhattan] whenever they need to, but will also encourage folks to use the transit system.”

Toll exemptions present 'conundrum'

On the topic of potential exemptions from the tolls, Durso called it a “difficult conundrum.” The MTA has received exemption requests from 122 different groups, ranging from police, to farmers, to musicians, to parents.

“There are very good arguments. I’m sure all of us will hear each and every one of them,” said Durso, who noted that the more exemptions are granted, the higher the tolls have to be on everyone else. “If there’s a dollar figure you need to get at, every time you exempt somebody, you still need to get to the number.”

Although Durso’s top priority may be his fellow Long Islanders, Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for the Riders Alliance — a New York City transit advocacy group — said he believes Durso will ultimately be “100% on the same page” as other board members in working toward the success of congestion pricing.

“There’s going to be regional champions and local champions, but the whole board is looking out for the entire MTA’s interest, because what’s good for riders in one part of the system is good for riders in other parts of the system,” Pearlstein said. “Some of the traffic eliminated will be traffic on the LIE.”

The review panel will hold its first meeting on July 19 in Manhattan. It will also be streamed live.

In announcing the appointment to the board, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber in a statement said Durso “shares the vision of a better, more sustainable New York and he understands the equity benefits of a reliable, modernized transit system.”

Others also praised Durso’s evenhandedness. “If anyone can figure out how to balance two opposing dynamic on a knife edge, it’s John,” said Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a business advocacy group.

Samuel Chu, the Suffolk County representative on the MTA Board, said with a strong connection to “everyday Long Islanders,” Durso is uniquely equipped to take on “what is ultimately going to be a very, very big responsibility.”

“No one is going to pay more with a smile, but the purpose of this initiative is to serve the benefit of overall regional health,” Chu said. “I think the hard work of that board is really to differentiate between discomfort and excessive pain.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.